Hacker

What is A Hacker?

Hacker- A hacker is a person who knows a lot about computers, computer technology, and uses that technology that they have become to know really well to take advantage and engage in illegal behaviorsby illegally breaking into computer and network securities to achieve their goals.

That is the the general definition of a hacker. Hackers are motivated and driven by different reasons, therefore, different classifications of hackers exist. Hackers can be a threat to anybody with a computer, it is very important that people, companies, and businesses set the proper safety measures to ensure that hackers never become a threat to their business, personal life, privacy, or even identity. Here is an example why somebody would want to hack a computer system, lets say that somebody wants to obtain credit card information to use to steal somebodies identity, this hacker will try to hack into a companies financial information database that holds these customers personal information to obtain the credit card numbers to use illegally, or to even sell the information. This can cause major headaches for companies, cause law suits to pop up, and eventually lead to the company losing a potential lifetime customer. Some ways a hacker can hack into a computer or network is by stealing password information, or by going to the company and stealing valuable information like paperwork, in hopes to get a glimpse of some information that they can be useful to them in hacking into the companies network of computers.

Hacker Classifications

White-hat hackers- this kind of hacker is actually hired by a company to try and hack into its systems to see if the hacker can succeed successfully. This exposes the company to how secure their valuable information really is so they can benchmark where their security systems are compared to where they want it to be, and to check if there are things that need to be fixed.

Black-hat Hackers- These are the bad kind of hackers who try to break into private computers to do some snooping around, or may even do something like copy private information, or tamper with it.

Hactivists- These kind of hackers are usually motivated my something, usually for reasons where the hacker doesn't agree with a specific party so they go and try to attack them. These hackers usually try to shut down or terminate the web site as a way of acting out.

Script kiddies- This type of hacker searches and finds specific kinds of hacking codes, and use them to cause havoc upon computers and networks. These hackers also like to distribute viruses as well.

Cracker- These are pretty much criminals with computer skills, they use hacking to conduct their criminal minded activities.

Cyberterrorists- The name says it all with these hackers. Cyberterrorists like to cause havoc by harming systems. They use the internet to do their damage and can do major damage to a network.

Ways to Protect yourself from a Hacker

One of the best ways to ensure that your network and computer is safe from unwanted hackers is by having a firewall set up between your server and your internet. This way any unwanted or stranger who is trying to hack into your network will be denied by the firewall. Having a firewall does not guarantee that your computer and systems will be completely safe from hackers, however, the chances of a hacker cracking their way into your computer and network greatly decreases by using a firewall. Another big useful tool to protect your property from a hacker would be to encrypt the data on your computer, whether you have it saved on your hard drive or if your even emailing it, to prevent hackers from being able to read this data one of the safest things you can do is to encrypt your data. You can never be too safe when it comes to protecting yourself, personal information, or company from hackers. These safety measure will greatly increase your network security and leave you feeling more confident about your privacy being protected.